Cornish Pirates make several changes as they prepare to face Ampthill away again – this time in the RFU Championship.

The Pirates return to Dillingham Park (2pm kick-off) only a fortnight after winning there in the Championship Cup.

The teams have already met three times this season, with the Pirates winning 15-13 at home in the league in October, while also emerging victorious from two cup games – 27-18 at home in November and 23-14 in February.

From the team that faced Ampthill last time out, the Pirates team sees Arthur Relton selected on the wing and AJ Cant moved to full-back, with Garyn Smith also returning to partner Rory Parata in the centre.

In the forwards there are starts for props Jack Andrew and Matt Johnson, and for hooker Will Crane, while fresh faces on the bench include experienced prop Marlen Walker and fit again scrum-half Ruaridh Dawson.

For replacements Steele Barker and Jarrard Hayler, should they get a call to action, it would be their first appearance in a Championship league game.

Pirates joint head coach Gavin Cattle said: “Playing Ampthill only recently there were lessons for us to learn from that contest. We know they are very physical at the breakdown and are overall very tough customers, as we also found out in other games this season when they pushed us close.

“So, knowing what to expect, it will be another challenge when we must be ready to go again.”

He added: “Naturally, the league will be our focus for the next couple of months, and holding a belief that our actual league position belies our potential we will inevitably be striving to achieve results that will hopefully see us climb the league ladder into the top half of the table.”

Cornish Pirates: 15 AJ Cant 14 Arthur Relton 13 Rory Parata 12 Garyn Smith 11 Robin Wedlake 10 Arwel Robson 9 Alex Schwarz; 1 Jack Andrew 2 Will Crane 3 Matt Johnson 4 Josh Williams 5 Will Britton 6 Alex Everett 7 Will Gibson 8 John Stevens (captain).

Replacements: 16 Morgan Nelson 17 Marlen Walker 18 Harvey Beaton 19 Steele Barker 20 Jarrard Hayler 21 Ruaridh Dawson 22 Harry Bazalgette 23 Tommy Wyatt.